Contribution of Structural Change to Productivity Growth: Evidence from Tunisia

The objective of this paper is to analyze the evolution of productivity and the contribution of structural change to productivity growth in Tunisia since the mid eighties. Using sectoral and firm data we show that productivity increased at a relatively interesting pace, but that the contribution of structural change remained very limited. Trade and labor market reforms did not seem to increase it. The main reasons are barriers to entry in some sectors, the inefficiency of factor markets, and the focus of the firms’ upgrading program only on some selected sectors.  

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